ASPEN, Colo.—A Minnesota man pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors stemming from the baiting and killing of a bear last month.
Craig Miller, 43, of Little Canada, Minn., pleaded guilty yesterday to unlawfully killing a black bear, failing to dress and care for the meat, and using bait to kill a bear.
Miller was sentenced to two years of unsupervised probation, loss of hunting privileges for five years and fines of $5,300. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors dropped a felony charge of willful destruction of big-game wildlife.
Miller says the loss of hunting privileges hit him especially hard, since his children are 13 and 11 and he wanted to take them hunting.
“In our house, we do hunt,” he said. “Its woven into the fabric of our lives. Loss of hunting privileges is very sad. … I apologize for the crimes I did.”
Officials say he used a bow and arrow to kill a bear near Carbondale on September 1, the day before bow hunting season started. Officials say he used dog food to bait the bear.
